This may be an unpopular opinion, but I thought this series was pleasant.
After watching everything about this drama unfold in real time over the past two years, plus everyone’s poor reviews, I really wasn’t expecting much of anything from this show. However, as I was actually watching it, I was waiting for the plot to take a turn for the worse, but it actually just stayed pretty good. There were even a few really touching moments.
To start, this show has good production, and I especially loved the music. I found the cast of characters likable and thought the interactions between all the different characters were fun and cute. Each episode got some giggles out of me, and were full of simple but heartfelt life lessons. The casting was excellent and the actors, especially the two main leads, did a great job. The tension between the leads was surprisingly good with Seungwon's yearning feeling very real and palpable. There was also an element of bashfulness and reservedness that felt grounded for the setting. The pace itself is slow, but I didn’t mind it too much. The pacing made sense for the way the each characters' feelings changed and developed. To be fair, I also tend to prefer shows with a slow burn pacing.
A lot of people were really upset about the time spent on the het relationship. I think this is a valid reaction, but I am unfortunately used to television bastardization of manhwa/manga and therefore wasn’t expecting anything different from this series too. Regardless I still feel bad for all the fans that got their hopes up for this series as an unabashed adaptation. Still this series is not a completely straight washed bromance (cough cough High School Return of a Gangster). The intentions behind the feelings and sexualities of the characters were explicitly stated many times throughout the series.
I did read the original manhwa a few years ago, but I don’t remember much, so that didn’t really affect my viewing experience either. So in the end, I watched this series as a standalone independent from the original work. Plus, due to the fact I came in with no expectations that the series needed to cover certain plot points from the manhwa, I was able to enjoy the show for what it is. I would sometimes skim over scenes I didn’t care too much about (usually of Chanyoung), but didn’t do it very often.
Heesu still very much felt like the main character to me, but I also didn’t mind seeing what was happening in the lives of some of the other characters because they were all a part of Heesu’s life. Of course, I would have preferred more time spent on Heesu and Seungwon’s relationship, but I felt this series was more about what it means to “have a crush” than what it’s like to “be in a relationship.”
So even though I agree that this was not a good adaptation of the source material, I think it was still a good watch overall. I think what really made parts of this series really work for me was how relatable certain aspects were to some of my personal experiences. I don’t think this is the type of series that would necessarily get better with a rewatch, but I could see myself revisiting it, or parts of it in the future. It's an romcom ensemble story about love, dating and friendship, so I would recommend it to anyone who was a fan of Kieta Hatsukoi.
To start, this show has good production, and I especially loved the music. I found the cast of characters likable and thought the interactions between all the different characters were fun and cute. Each episode got some giggles out of me, and were full of simple but heartfelt life lessons. The casting was excellent and the actors, especially the two main leads, did a great job. The tension between the leads was surprisingly good with Seungwon's yearning feeling very real and palpable. There was also an element of bashfulness and reservedness that felt grounded for the setting. The pace itself is slow, but I didn’t mind it too much. The pacing made sense for the way the each characters' feelings changed and developed. To be fair, I also tend to prefer shows with a slow burn pacing.
A lot of people were really upset about the time spent on the het relationship. I think this is a valid reaction, but I am unfortunately used to television bastardization of manhwa/manga and therefore wasn’t expecting anything different from this series too. Regardless I still feel bad for all the fans that got their hopes up for this series as an unabashed adaptation. Still this series is not a completely straight washed bromance (cough cough High School Return of a Gangster). The intentions behind the feelings and sexualities of the characters were explicitly stated many times throughout the series.
I did read the original manhwa a few years ago, but I don’t remember much, so that didn’t really affect my viewing experience either. So in the end, I watched this series as a standalone independent from the original work. Plus, due to the fact I came in with no expectations that the series needed to cover certain plot points from the manhwa, I was able to enjoy the show for what it is. I would sometimes skim over scenes I didn’t care too much about (usually of Chanyoung), but didn’t do it very often.
Heesu still very much felt like the main character to me, but I also didn’t mind seeing what was happening in the lives of some of the other characters because they were all a part of Heesu’s life. Of course, I would have preferred more time spent on Heesu and Seungwon’s relationship, but I felt this series was more about what it means to “have a crush” than what it’s like to “be in a relationship.”
So even though I agree that this was not a good adaptation of the source material, I think it was still a good watch overall. I think what really made parts of this series really work for me was how relatable certain aspects were to some of my personal experiences. I don’t think this is the type of series that would necessarily get better with a rewatch, but I could see myself revisiting it, or parts of it in the future. It's an romcom ensemble story about love, dating and friendship, so I would recommend it to anyone who was a fan of Kieta Hatsukoi.
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